Category Archives: News

Back to reality after a week or two of birthday fun; time to get back on my healthy diet regimen. It was not until I turned 32 did I take stock in how I was mistreating my body. I have done a complete 180 since then. Partying is all well and good in the moment, until its Tuesday and you’re feeling the downward spiral of reality and anxiety. I used to get sick at least four times a year, and would stay up most of the weekend having what I thought wasfun for my life in that moment.

There came a time I realized it was not fun anymore. If your weekend hangover is delayed until Tuesday you may have an issue. I was going through a laundry list of things at that time; A shitty boyfriend that I do not wish upon anyone, finding out who my REAL friends were in the most undignified fashion, and sick family. At that time I did not know how to deal with those emotions other than not sitting around thinking about it. Today, I am a completely different person. I try my hardest to not drink while going through something negative. I have failed at that here and there, but as long as I know it is not the way to handle it that is all that matters.

Meal planning is a big part of my life. To me cooking is therapy, and plating is a creative art form. If I cook for you, it is going to look like you are eating at a five star restaurant. Stephen Starr had run a home cooks challenge a few years back. They featured my sweet potato hash with Greek yogurtcrème brûlée on their Instagram page. I also practice intermittent fasting, meaning I drink a cup of coffee in the morning plus one liter of water, or decaf herbal tea until around 1pm.

Then I eat my first meal, which usually is my largest of the day. I do not believe in cutting out carbs from your diet. That is a great way to set yourself up for failure. I’ll prepare a portion of lean protein with vegetables outweighing the meat, and some form of starch. Sweet potatoes are my favorite, also quinoa, potatoes, and rice. I make plant based protein smoothies mixed with different fruits, green veggies, nut butters, and almond milk, sweetening it with honey. I make sure to SEASON all of my meats and veggies. Flavor is usually what people lack when cooking for themselves.

Through the rest of my day I try to get down one more liter of water. I think a gallon is way too much for me. It always makes me feel bloated and cranky. Drinking a glass of water before you eat also decreases the amount of food you intake. Chewing your food properly before swallowing helps you digest correctly. Being in my thirties heartburn is a real thing I did not know existed in my twenties. In the evening dinner is the smaller meal for me. I will also have fruit, nuts, or granola bars as snacks. I try to stop eating by 8pm.

The only time you will see me with junk food in my house is when I have PMS. Then nothing is stopping me from eating all the cheese, chocolate, chips, and pasta in sight. I pick two days a week to eat whatever I want. Depriving yourself of something you want to eat makes being healthy feel like a chore.

Now, I realize this is not many people’s cup of tea, or good use of their time anymore in an age of meal kits and fresh food delivery. I always find it baffling when my friends say they cannot cook. That basic human survival skill we are skipping teaching our children in the day of convenience.

How do we make healthy meals a family activity again? We move through life so fast that slowing down to eat together rarely happens. Nothing makes me feel better than seeing the look on friends faces when they eat my food. Some of my fondest memories were cooking with my mom, grandmothers, and aunts. I always tell people if they need help getting a jump start on basic meal planning I am here to help. That goes for anyone reading this wanting to change, but not sure where to start. I am no personal trainer or nutritionist but, I look better at 35 than I did at 25.

Summer is coming and so are sundresses and bikinis. If you would like the recipes of the food photos I have attached here please visit my Instagram page. If you want a healthy mind, body, and spirit a good diet is the best place to start. You can work out all you want, but you truly are what you eat. I know I am ready to shed the winter layers and lay in the sun; Are you?

HEROES was started over ten years ago to spotlight and honor the unwavering dedication of community leaders and organizations to advance the rights and wellbeing of the greater Philadelphia regions LGBTQ community. Through the nomination process, HEROES identifies youth, adults, nonprofits, straight allies, and businesses who have bold ideas, act with selfless intention, are admired for their integrity, and are regarded as courageous in advancing LGBTQ equality in the Greater Philadelphia Area and beyond. DVLF honors these HEROES annually to celebrate their character and to encourage others to act heroically.

Since 1993, DVLF has served the greater Philadelphia LGBTQ community through philanthropy. More specifically, DVLF works to empower and advance the LGBTQ community through grant-making, scholarships, advocacy, community leadership development and education. DVLF has established an endowment that provides crucial support to the diverse array of LGBTQ nonprofit organizations and programs striving to address our community’s pressing needs. This includes: youth homelessness, civil rights, the elderly, cultural/ educational entities, and more.

As we enter its 26th year, we are looking to partner with businesses, individuals and organizations that share our values and which are interested in deepening their connections with our dynamic donor base, our stakeholders, and our region’s LGBTQ community, including its thought leaders.

Many of you reading this came of age in the digital photography era. Most likely you’ve never used, maybe never even seen, a film camera. My girlfriend Marion was like that. The first time I handed her a film camera she took a shot and then looked at the back of the camera to see the picture – which, of course, was not there! People who grew up with digital photography can’t imagine having to wait to see the pictures. When I first got started, unless you had a darkroom and developed and printed your own, you had to wait days to see your photos. When I had my first camera shop in the early 1970s we had our photofinishing done by a big commercial company called Colorcraft. Their courier picked up film from us every day and delivered the finished photos. As I recall, it took three or four days to get your pictures back. A bit later in the 70s came the innovation of next day delivery. People were amazed to get their pictures that fast. Next came the minilabs that pharmacies, grocery stores, and discount stores installed. Suddenly you could get your pictures back the same day! Some places even offered one hour service. The race was on to be the fastest, but quality was often lost in the rush. People got back poorly exposed or otherwise flawed pictures, and assumed it was their fault, never knowing they could have gotten good pictures from a better lab.

Today those big photofinishing companies are long gone, as are most of the smaller labs. The last lab in my area, run by an old friend of mine, closed at the end of 2018. People who still shoot film pretty much have to develop and print their own unless they live near one of the few labs still in business.

Kodak Alaris has just reintroduced Ektachrome 100 Professional in 35mm rolls and Super-8 cartridges. They must think there’s a market for it, but that leaves open the question of where to get it processed. (kodakalaris.com)

The Lomography people have recently introduced black and white Potsdam 100 and Berlin 400 films. These come in 35mm and 120 roll film sizes, and are “cut from old stocks of a cinematic emulsion, produced by a legendary German company.”. Available online from Lomography (www.lomography.com)

I don’t know much about the current Lomography company. I know they got their start selling a compact camera made by LOMO, Leningrad Optical and Mechanical Works, in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad in Soviet days) and turned that little camera into a cult object. They’ve expanded to selling a wide variety of photographic products. I’d guess that the “legendary German company” they refer to is Agfa. Apparently Agfa had large stocks of film on hand when they went out of the film business. Rollei was selling rebranded Agfa black and white film under their name for some time. In cold storage black and white film will still be good for many years. In a bit of sales hype, they say, “Steeped in a rich past and prestige, this mighty monochrome is not just a tribute to history — rather a part of it.”

I used to collect Soviet era cameras and lenses from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. While the little LOMO point and shoot, the LC-1 was nothing special, LOMO also made the only Russian-built professional camera, the Almas (Diamond in Russian). During the Cold War days, Soviet photographers were cut off from the Japanese professional cameras the rest of the world used. LOMO was tasked with the job of producing a camera for Soviet professional photographers. Superficially, the Almas looks like a Nikon F2, but on closer inspection is revealed as a unique camera. The removeable prism housing is styled like Nikon’s, as are the interchangeable focusing screens. The camera body looks like a Minolta and has a shutter that looks like a Copal, but is a unique LOMO design. To carry on the hybridization, the lens mount is Pentax K mount. The camera is very robustly built and most samples I’ve seen show considerable use. There is a connection on the bottom for a motor drive, but as far as I have been able to determine, that motor drive was never produced. The 50mm lens on my sample is excellent. It’s too bad that this noble experiment vanished when the Soviet Union collapsed and photographers in former Soviet republics gained access to cameras from the outside world. My Almas has no light meter, but there was a meter prism available in small quantities that is rare today. My Almas is the star of my collection of Soviet cameras.

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About The Author: Bob Shell is a professional photographer, author and former editor in chief of Shutterbug Magazine. He is currently serving a 35 year sentence for involuntary manslaughter for the death of Marion Franklin, one of his former models. Shell was recently moved from Pocahontas State Correctional Center, Pocahontas, Virginia to River North Correctional Center 329 Dellbrook Lane Independence, VA 24348. Mr. Shell continues to claim his innocence. He is serving the 11th year of his sentence. To read more letters from prison by Bob Shell, click here: http://tonywardstudio.com/blog/bob-shell-musical-instruments/

articles, but this time my mother and father really outdid themselves.

Break ups are never easy. Getting your belongings back, half moving back into your place that you were using for storage, feeling drained, and endless explaining to people about what happened. After all of that, I do have a certain peace of mind knowing I made the right decision for my own happiness.

Now, previously I would have went out and tried to busy

myself serial dating, drinking, and not truly recovering. I did download all of the dating apps out of pure anger, but this time I couldn’t bring myself to meet anyone off of it. It’s not a productive use of my time, or going to make me less angry . I got through my work day, did some yoga, and meal planned. That was about all I had the

energy for the last month.

So what changed? My ever praying mother came and helped me. My

father is my personality type and more of my best friend. He has always

listened to me over coffee, or glass of bourbon. Reiterating I do not

need a man to be happy, or take care of me. He said that was his job even in my

thirties. I’m forever grateful for everything he has done for me. I now

realize as an adult I could never have had it both ways with my parents.

Someone had to be the voice of reason and tell me no. My mother was

that parent.

She recently turned 60, and we had a really fun weekend celebrating. I

gave her a birthstone ring. I also wrote down 60 reasons she is the best

mother, and put it in a pretty wooden box. I realized I never told her all

of those things I appreciate now growing up. Now she can hold onto that forever.

I let her know I was struggling going through all my stuff at home, and

didn’t have the space for it all. She came for the weekend to help me. In four days she pulled everything out of the closets, kitchen cabinets, and storage.

She helped me create new spaces for all the stuff I had accumulated. I was floored, Marie Kondo has nothing on my mother. She turned my pantry into a shoe cabinet , and a piece of my entertainment unit for my bags.

She also just listened to me with no judgment. I made dinner the one night , took her to my favorite brunch spot in my area called Morning Glory Diner,

we walked the Italian market , and did some vintage shopping here in

Philadelphia . I couldn’t have asked for a nicer weekend. I feel like a

complete human being again, and at home in my own place.

She will always be there to help pick up the pieces. Life does not get

any easier in your thirties; you will still need your mother. No one can get through life alone. She has never given up on me even in my most unlovable moments.

She really does not get why I like to go to Miami for my birthday, but

always goes shopping with me for it. She gets music sets me free, just like

getting tattooed does. My parents only want the best for me and that’s happiness.